Tesco faces protests over sacked Polish staff

Tesco stores are being targeted by protesters upset at the sacking of two Polish workers formerly employed at its distribution centre in Ireland.

The two men, who were employed by a recruitment agency, claim to have been “sacked” after complaining about working conditions at the warehouse. They had also objected to the fact that Tesco staff were paid more than those employed by the agency.

The protesters are asking that agency staff who have worked for Tesco for more than three months are taken on full-time, and are calling for an end to daily targets for staff working in distribution centres.

Tesco has attempted to tackle labour shortages by recruiting hundreds of staff from Poland over the past 12 months.

The supermarket giant insisted that the dispute was an isolated incident.

“Feedback from the Polish workers in our UK business is very positive. They like working for Tesco and a number have already been promoted and are looking forward to successful careers with us,” it said.